by Joshua Hu | Jun 16, 2017 | Fiat, Inherency, Topicality
In both debate circles and the “real-world”, it’s a shame that bad arguments prevail. But it’s not the blatantly false arguments which remain; rather, it’s the appealing and seemingly simple points which misguide listeners and debaters alike. These arguments become...
by Noah Howard | Dec 17, 2016 | Counterplans
(Just a quick note: Isaiah has written two very extensive posts on counterplans and parametrics earlier on the blog, and I’m definitely not going to try to outdo him. Instead, this post will attempt to cover the main reasoning behind topical counterplans, as well as...
by Harrison Durland | Nov 5, 2016 | Disadvantages, Strategy, Team Policy
“And this brings me to the next disad disad 2 nuclear war card 1 Matthews ‘08 nuclear war most gasp-gasp likely in Asia reads evidence… and now gasp-gasp card 2 Greer ‘09 South China Sea (SCS) unstable reads evidence… now we gasp-gasp have link 1 their...
by Brennan Herring | Jul 10, 2016 | Counterplans, Strategy, Technique
Most debate rounds go a little bit like this: AFF: Here’s a problem, and here’s the solution! NEG: Nah, what we have is just fine. AFF: No, action is needed! Let’s go over the problems again. NEG: Ehhh, nah. Still think we are fine where we are. Then the rebuttals...
by Harrison Durland | Apr 28, 2016 | Disadvantages, Guest Posts, Strategy, Technique, Thinking Strategically
As has been noted before, impact calculus it is a fantastic tool for both aff and neg, but it is terribly underused. I totally understand; it can certainly get complicated, especially as you get into the long list of (admittedly over complicated) factors like...
by Spencer Kolssak | Jul 28, 2015 | Topicality
Topicality and other theory arguments often get a bad rap in the debate community. Just ask your judge’s “judging philosophy.” They say things like “I don’t ever buy topical counterplans” or “I don’t vote on Topicality.” I find it funny that some people take such hard...
